Robust Reinvention, Part II

First Place in VMSD's Renovation Competition
Renovation — Supermarket
Loblaws St. Clair & Bathurst, Toronto
Submitted by: Turner Fleischer Architects, Toronto

“The challenge was taking a design for a new-build and trying to make it work [as a] renovation,” says Caley Howes, associate, Turner Fleischer Architects (Toronto), about Loblaws’ St. Clair design, which was based on the company’s Maple Leaf Gardens flagship (Toronto).

In order to increase its offerings without expanding its physical size, the grand staircase was removed, while an exit stair was converted for public use. Curved architecture gained a “chic, straight-line look,” says Robert Peters, designer, project coordinator, Turner Fleischer Architects, while black tile makes signage pop.

The bright floors (red in the food hall and orange in the grocery) were custom-made to match the brand’s colors.

Loblaws’ structure included ancillary retail stores and a two-level parking garage above a transit hub of buses, streetcars and a subway. To ensure the interchange wasn’t bearing extra weight due to interior renovations, architects collaborated with a range of city officials.

“They’ve totally changed the ambience in the store, which is impactful,” says Kroger’s Amanda Sarver, one of this year's judges.

For more first place winners and honorable mentions from VMSD's 2014 Renovation Competition, please check vmsd.com throughout the month of September for parts III-VII.

For the full article in VMSD's September issue, click here.

Click here for Part I.